Rio: The Great Open (IDK Collection)
by Digital Riot
Summary: Blu and the flock head to the United States with Linda Fernando and Tulio From New York to San Francisco from Atlantic to Pacific.
1. Chapter 1

I have reached 16 views on my story, Black Mesa! Congratulate me! And now that you have congratulated me I am happy to be back on Fanfiction. So lets roll with the story.

There is a awfully weird feeling you have when you leave your home country and go somewhere else. To experience the culture the land, the greatness of that country. Every single country has something special in it.

Russia is known for being cold and sending the first dog in space, South Africa known for gold mining and peace under presidential rule of Nelson Mandela, United Kingdom known for its royal family and colonial empire.

Every country has something unique about it. Whether it be its history, it people, its culture or just simply the color of its flag.

And the Gunderson family where going to experience just that. The United States of America. Home to liberty and freedom and corporate oppression and injustice. The ideal vacation spot in Blue's head.

Blu had been planning a vacation for the family for the entire year now and this Christmas he was planning the greatest vacation yet. The family would set sail for the greatest cities of the United States,

How they would do this would be a miracle, but Blu knew the perfect person to pull it off.

Her name began with an L. L-lull-Linda! Linda was planning to drive from coast to coast on a family vacation. Luckily in Linda's head family also meant Blue's family. A road trip starting in New York City, driving to Chicago, Salt Lake city, Los Vegas, and San Francisco.

Linda had a aunt in New York that she had to deliver a cake to for her birthday and then she had grandparents in San Francisco where she decided it would be a good idea to visit her 95 year old grandmother and her 95.6 year old grandfather.

But if Blu wanted to get there with Linda he would have to meet Linda at the airport. Which would mean his family would have to fly to Rio and find Linda.

It's a walk in the park really. If that park was filled with snakes, forest fires, bears, more snakes, spiders, quick sand, deadly tree snakes, clowns, clown- spiders, and its midnight.

Jewel honestly didn't want to go. She loved the Amazon. But the kids (with such short attention spans) wanted to experience human-land. Jewel doesn't even know what America really is. When she first saw the word she tried to pronounce it like Ah-me-Rye-Caw.

"Blu do you think this a good idea? " Jewel asked as her husband put a bunch of stuff in his fannypack.

"Yeah? What could go wrong? "

"I… Don't…really…wanna go to America. I like it here." Jewel said.

"Listen Jewel we talked about this. We aren't staying there, we are just going for a few weeks. It wont kill you to leave this place would it?" Blu said not watching his words.

"what do you mean something is wrong with this place?" Jewel demanded.

"Um… [cough] I really am having a scratchy throat today [coughing] man [not even coughing any more just like hacking or like a combination boiling water gargling and a rabid racoon]" Blu left the room leaving Jewel alone.

"(sigh) fine. I guess I don't really have a choice. Do i?" Jewel said to herself.

"Oh man I can't wait. We are going to see the London bridge, Mount Olympus and we get to see Baghdad! " Tiago couldn't control his excitement.

"actually none of those places we in America. Mount Olympus isn't even on Earth!" Bia informed Tiago.

"MoUnT OlYmPuS IsN't EvEn On EaRtH!" Tiago made his wings like a chicken and started mocking Bia.

"Stop mocking me!"

"StOp MoCkIng MeE!"

"Dad! Tiago is mocking me again!" Bia said walking out the room.

Carla was on her phone, because if she loses one like on OnlineTween she could die.

"Aren't you gonna get ready to go?" Tiago asked her.

"I got ready 2 weeks ago. So I can finally say this in your face. Ha! In your face loser!" Carla formed a L with her wing and put it on her forehead.

"Well at least I don't have fake profile on OnlineTween so nobody knows in a bird!" Tiago said.

Carla took the case off her phone and threw it at Tiago hitting him square in the head. Tiago retreated outside the room.

"Stupid!" Carla said.

"Dumb!" Tiago said in the other room.

"Your dumb!"

"your dumber than dumb!"

"Your word that means the same thing as dumb!"

"Woah, guys stop calling each other dumb. Carla are you ready?" Blu asked.

Carla nodded her headmen

"What about you Tiago? "

"No!"

"Well get ready! We don't have much time!"

Bia came back inside the room with a checklist. Alright I have my camera, book, a foreign translator, passport, visa, Identification Card" Bia checked through the paper.

"Why do you need a passport or identification card. You're a bird. Where did you even get that?" Carla asked.

Bia didn't hear her as she picked up something else.

"Bia?" Nothing.

"Bia?"

Bia!" Bia turned around when Carla raised her voice.

"Where did you get a passport and If from?"

"None of your business!" Bia crept out the room and flashed a devilish smile as she exited.

"That is my business. Im the oldest child!" Carla screamed.

"I don't care. Im smarter than you!" Bia said in another room.

"Stupid!"

"you can't even spell stupid!"

"yes I can! S-t-u-p-I-d!"

" add a u next to stupid! "

"A u next to stupid? U stupid. U stupid? Oh you stupid." Carla sometimes hated her siblings. Including now. She thought of throwing them off the airplane or abandoning them in a dumpster in New York. Nah that's not cruel enough.

Jewel voice went through the hollow.

"Alright everybody we are leaving! " Jewel said.

Blu was next her. Instead of his usual fanny pack he had a mail satchel slung around his neck and shoulder.

"Blu what is that?"

"oh its my mail satchel. Satchy for short."

"Satchy?" Jewel was wondering if the strain of the amazon and heat really was getting to Blu and his ever so precious brain.

"Yeah. I have a teddy bear at home I named Roosevelt after teddy Roosevelt." Blu said.

"You can't go around naming inanimate objects." Jewel said.

"Yes I can. This wall over here. I named him Mr. Wall"

"stop being sarcastic Blu!" Jewel said.

"Sarcastic? Goodness no. Im being totally serious Mr. Wall wants to meet you. He is saying hi right now. Don't be shy!" Blu and Jewel started laughing a little.

All three kids lined up in front of their parents and they took off heading towards Rio De Janeiro


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry for not posting in a while. Was in Philadelphia for a while over the winter then came back home and completely forgot about FFN. Enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think.

"Blu…"

"Huh?"

"This is the worst decision you ever had." Jewel could barely see her mate and children in type darkness or the pits of a airplane. Treated as luggage instead of actual animals.

"No… the worst decision I made was-"

"Blu!"

"Sorry."

Carla was tugging Blu's wing.

"When are we gonna get off this plane, dad?"

"I don't know. "

"Oh and while your at it tell the rest of the family what you don't know before dragging us in here!" Jewel added.

"Jewel! Sure we stuck in a cage… in a room… a dark one… full of boxes and dust, but this will be over soon!" Blu said.

He put a wing around Jewel.

"Just think of how nice it will be when we land at the airport. The only blue macaws for miles I bet!" Blu said it Jewel and his family.

A scurrying sound was heard somewhere in the darkness.

"What was that?" Tiago asked.

"Probably just the plane." Bia said.

It happened again, just a little closer.

"Okay that's not a plane! " Carla looked attentively at the opening of the cage door.

A shadow formed at the base of the cage. A big figure with fuzzy hair and big ears was coming towards them. Everyone tried to hide at the back of the cage.

Until the figure got smaller and smaller and more docile. A tiny brown mouse emerged from the darkness and looked up at the macaw family.

"-squeak-" The mouse said.

"Aww. Its just a cute little mouse. What are you doing here?" Blu asked.

"I thought I heard another cat. Cats eat mice and… That's … not good. You guys are birds, and birds eat mice. Also not … that good." The mouse said.

"Oh don't worry. We don't eat other creatures." Jewel said to the mmouse

"Are you sure?" the mouse asked them.

Everyone nodded their heads.

"Okay… I guess I can trust you for now."

"So where are you going?" Bia asked.

"Where everyone else on this plane is. America. The land of no cats. Sure it's a overrated stereotype, but I would take my chances there then back in Ecuador."

"Ecuador? What's wrong over there?" Carla asked.

"The Mousining is what's wrong. Every year they would release a swath of cats into our territory, they destroy everything, eat our food, and eat us."

*Flashback*

In a tiny mouse village in Ecuador, in the jungle lived a entire community of mice. Living playing feasting.

Until the day… the cats… attacked.

It was horrible I never saw my great uncle, my brother Jerry, or my own grandmother.

*Present*

"so to escape those cats in going to America where they have animals rights groups and stuff to prevent that. Or at least I hope. My name is Quincy by the way." Quincy said taking a bow.

Everyone introduced themselves.

"Well me and everyone else are going to be so happy to taste s new chapter in our lives. And snow. We always wondered what snow was like." Quincy said.

"You and everyone else? Who is everyone else?" Blu asked.

"Oh its my family! Come you must meet them!" Quincy said opening the cage of the macaws.

Quincy led the macaws through rows upon rows of boxes and luggage and stuff until they reached a clearing towards the airplane wall.

A small porthole window was in the wall under the wing, exposing the engine and the sky.

A large band of mice emerged from the boxes and luggage, some with food on their face from digging in the humans luggage.

"let me introduce you to my family. This is my mother Mama." He said about a large older mouse woman.

"My sister Gloria…" he introduced the rest of his family too. But the think is he had hundreds of family members. All their names from a-z. The Ariel's and Jacobs, and the Raymond and Zetra.

"And here is my great brother three times removed who still is the tallest member of my family Lowell. "

The macaw family couldn't even say hi because of exhaustion.

"Well at least they are adorable. " Jewel said.

The fact the mice haven't been discovered on the plane was a phenomenon in itself, but the passengers will find out soon when they have holes in their suitcases and various shirts.

Linda, Tulio, and Fernando figured that out the hard way. Especially in crowd of millions of people in the arrivals section of John F. Kennedy airport.

"I can't believe they didn't tell us about the mice on the plane!" Fernando said, holding his suitcase over his head.

"We need to get our money back or something!" Tulio said holding the macaw cage and a bookbag with a large hole in it.

The family stopped at a bench to put on their coats and jackets and hats. It was the middle of January and in New York City temperatures ranged from 20° Fahrenheit down to -20° Fahrenheit.

"Are you sure the birds will be warm in there? Blu will be fine but what about the rest?" Linda asked putting various blankets towels and unused hats inside the bird cage to keep the birds warm.

"Of course. We will be going to your aunts house by a the bus and subway anyway. " Tulio said.

Linda and Blu instantly shivered. Public transport in New York City was all right, but it had a lot of downsides.

The family was figuring that out, about 10 meters underground, waiting for a Manhattan Bound A train.

The station was kind of dirty, the air smelled dank and musty. Trains passing to the Far Rockaways would occasionally come down the track generating a lot of noise that would echo in the station. The lights of the station would flicker and flicker faster when a train would pass by. Hundreds of people crowded behind the yellow line with suitcases, bookbag and whatnot.

The train finally came, and it was much nicer than the station. The air-conditioning blew in fresh cool air, and the lights wouldn't flicker. The seats were a sunset orange color and the floors were mopped.

The family birded the train, despite the train entering the station there were still loads of people boarding the train, so the family had to stand.

"This is a Manhattan-bound A train making express stops at wherever the hell I feel like. Stand clear of the closing doors."

The doors closed but failed. Something was blocking them. Once again they failed and opened again. Finally someone took off their bookbag sighing and the doors finally closed. The train moved forward and the descended into a tunnel. The lights dimmed a little and was a little loud but was still a comfortable ride.

"Where are we now?" Jewel asked.

"On a train, its kinda loud but you get used to it." Blu said.

"I thought you lived in moose lake tinysoata or something like that." Jewel asked.

"Minnesota, and I do. I come here often with Linda when she visits her aunt."

A half hour later and after stopping hundreds of times, the family left the train. As they entered the station the train doors closed behind them and the train ran off into the tunnel. A few other people got off the train too, rushing about. No one was idle and everyone seemed very busy at the Chambers Street Station.

After passing a few turnstiles and some long hallways leading to more trains, and lined with advertisements, the family finally found their way to the staircase and breathed in a big wave of cool fresh air.

The streets of Manhattan, the snow lined the edge of the sidewalk and curb, a path was dug and salted along the sidewalk so people could walk through. Despite the bitterly cold weather people walking their tiny dogs, or pushing shopping bags, or carrying algebra textbooks around. And their were people in the street too, driving buses cabs trucks cars and even limos. Manhattan was in every way like Rio, except it was cold.

So cold Jewel tried to bury herself under as many blankets and towels in her cage, the kids doing the same. Blu on the other hand was fine with the cold.

"Don't worry guys. We will be somewhere warm soon." Blu said seeing his wife and kids shiver.

"H-how come y-your not freezing?" Jewel asked.

"I like this kind of weather. It makes me feel happy." Blu said. Jewel looked outside the cage, looking at the streets of New York. She had to admit, despite the cold weather it was nice. Beautiful even. It was different from the Amazon and Rio, the cold air made you feel more alert and attentive, it also removed sleepiness since the air was so crisps. Like breathing in fresh oxygen that's been cooled. Perfect to just relax, if you were warm that is. Jewel want warm at all.

"Honk! Honk!" A trailer truck used its horn. Traffic in New York was worst than in Rio. Because of safety laws, people weren't going up to the car selling food or snacks, but because of the New York grid system traffic was always at a standstill. The new York grid system, great for building tall skyscrapers and large department stores and excellent for urban planning. Not as good for cars and trucks.

Soon everyone started honking their horns, a driver fell asleep behind the wheel.

"Hey my aunts house is in that building right across the street. But the traffic is covering the crosswalk! " Linda said.

"we will just have to walk in between the cars." Fernando said.

"But isn't that J-walking? Can't you get hit by a car?" Linda asked.

"Not if the traffic is blocked on all sides Linda!" Tulio remarked. Indeed the car blocked the entire intersection, a four way intersection. Church street and Chambers Street was notorious for having bad traffic, and that went for all of Manhattan and Brooklyn in general. The other boroughs don't have as much traffic like Queens, Staten Island or the Bronx. (I never visited the Bronx so I actually wouldn't know about the traffic there)

Whether it was construction on the street, or if someone's car boiled over the intersection was always jammed.

Crossing the street was a nightmare, having to haul luggage over the street, wedging themselves between cars, and competing with other New Yorkers for personal space the trip from one sidewalk to the next was almost a death sentence. Not to mention you would have to carry live birds over you head that occasionally move and upset the balance.

After a few minutes they finally reached the other side. But some other people didn't. New Yorkers being the rude people they are got into fights with the drivers, kicking the cars basically parked on the street. Some people just gave up on the traffic and before the police came they left their cars and went to the nearest bodega or whatnot to get a bagel. Some people even decided to sleep in the cars themselves.

Blu watched the chaos on the roads as he entered into the apartment building. A wooden door closed behind him,but he could still see through the windows of the door. As the family waited for a elevator he saw the red and blue police lights.

"GRRRM! " the police cars siren echoed through the city. It was a low pitched grumbling sound that rose a couple of octaves at the end of its song. It was short and was so deep it echoed through even the heads of natives. Perfect for a police car.

Blu kind of wanted to stay and watch but, first of all he was in a cage, and second he had an entire adventure in America. The family was only staying in New York to visit their aunt and borrow her car so they could go west to Chicago. Then further west and further north to Moose Lake, then drive finally travel full west to San Francisco to visit Linda Grandmother.


	3. Chapter 3

The elevator creaked in the shaft as they reached the fifth floor of the apartment building. The elevator having a single dim white light in it and its wall covered in light blue wallpaper.

Jewel hated being in enclosed spaces, but with Blu next to her she felt a little more comfortable. Besides the creaking of the elevator was getting on everyone's nerves.

The doors opened with light ding sound.

"Fifth floor." A automated voice came in through a panel.

The door of the elevator slid open to the left, the entire family looked for apartment 5A.

Tulip knocked on the door, and heard a gasp sound in the apartment.

"Oh my goodness, she must be here already!" a female voice said from behind the wooden door.

A couple of muffled clicking sounds behind the door handle sounded off and OT opened.

A older woman with red hair dressed in pink sweatpants and sweatshirt appeared at the door. She immediately stretched out her arms to hug Linda.

"Linda im so glad you were able to come all the way back to the country. Oh, and this must be Tulio and Fernando?" She asked.

"Yeah, Tulio Fernando, meet my Aunt Vicky." Linda said.

"Hello Ms. Vicky! " Fernando and Tulio waved their hands.

"Well come inside please". Vicky invited them inside.

The apartment was a small one, a hallway was the first room they entered, and a small one at that only 10 feet, a closet was inside as well as the entrance to the kitchen and living room.

Linda set the birds down on a small coffee table to the side of the couch and took her boots and coat off.

"So Ms. Vicky- " Tulio began

"Please just call me Vicky"

"Oh, um. Vicky, I wondered if you are at all interested in birds?" Tulio asked Vicky.

"Birds, ha, I love them. Especially Blu over there. So well trained. And its not like I have a choice to like birds or not, everytime I walk outside there is a flock of pigeons or seagulls-"

Blu gulped at the word seagull. He was just 4 years old when he met one for the first time. A normal seagull, bear in mind, is 4 to 5 times the size of a macaw.

Not to get in too much detail but, in the end more than a couple of blue feathers were missing from him.

They stayed at Vicky house for the rest of the day, Vicky was coming with them on their road trip up north to Chicago and Moose Lake.

Blu and his family were allowed to go around the house as they pleased, but its been a long day.

The family went inside the cage to go to bed, And everyone else let themselves drift off for the night.

The next morning was a bitterly cold one, 6:30 Am, the sun hasn't rose above the Horizon and it was still dark. There want a light in the city, except for the moon, the lights of taxis; buses ; boats ; aircraft, the cell phones and electronic watches of people commuting to work, red and green lights flashing from the antennae of tall skyscrapers.

It seemed the city didn't need the sun, it made light to light up itself.

The weatherman seemed to be cold when reporting the weather.

"And here in New Jersey around Atlantic city there are wind chills bringing it to a bitterly cold -21 degrees. School closures have been issued inside the City of New York and trains and buses are operating on a restricted schedule as the mayor said yesterday-" the T.V. was on as everybody got ready to brave the cold.

Fernando never wore a jacket, except for when he first had to come to the city. Much less wear a winter coat with a furry Russian made hat. Long Jhons, sweatpants, boots, furry socks, and gloves under mittens were worn to keep the cold out.

Stepping outside of the apartment into the dark sky, the air was filled with a scent of cold fresh water. Mainly since Manhattan and the surrounding boroughs are surrounded by water.

The moon hung low in the sky, being blocked out occasionally by trees and buildings as the family drove through the streets of Manhattan, despite the mayor telling people to stay in most people ignored the warning and went to work anyway. So the car got caught in more traffic than usual.

Bia stared outside the window of the car as she looked at Manhattan, identifying buildings, famous streets, and world records held on the borough.

Tiago was still asleep, Carl was doing her trademark "I hate everyone so ill stare at my phone" action. Blu and Jewel mainly wrapped wings around each other.

They say the the heist makes people crazy, but the cold is worst. People were out in the darkness jogging in shorts, people forgot gloves meaning their fingers would freeze after 15 minutes, just craziness.

The car passed into a major highway going downtown into the heart of Manhattan, after waiting in traffic for an entire hour, the family drove into a tunnel connecting them with New Jersey.

The sun was a little above the horizon now, small apartment blocks want around here and there, as they drove on the New Jersey Turnpike. Lots of cars drove the mostly urban side of Eastern New Jersey, as they drove through the state. Soon the apartment buildings died down, into suburban flats, then into flat grasslands and bushes. The rural area of New Jersey.

Ponds here, a big bridge there, cattails reeds over their, it was really rural, and not a single building was nearby, except of course the freeway. They passed through some townships that contained residential flats and some larger villages and towns contained apartments but besides that most of the New Jersey was pretty flat and uninhabited, except for some major cities near the state and city of New York like Newark or Jersey City.

The crossed state lines at the end of the day, into Pennsylvania were they made their first rest stop St Philadelphia. Philadelphia was a big city too, bustling with people. Streetcars went up and down the streets, commuter trains coming from larger and smaller cities and towns raced in and outside the city .

The family stopped their car in front of a hotel were they spent the night so they could continue their journey.

Inside of the hotel Bia was sharing photos of the New Jersey country , the city of New York and the City of Philadelphia she caught with Bia's phone.

"Its beautiful isn't it?" She asked Blu.

"It really is. Are you sure you don't want to be a photographer of some sort?" Blu asked

Bia shook her head as she lied down and fell asleep.

Blu soon followed.


End file.
